'Israel's human capital is in danger'

Financier Michael Milken warned on Tuesday that Israel's $7 trillion human capital market is in danger of rapidly depreciating should the government not take the appropriate corrective steps to repair and invest in the local education system.
"Human capital" has been defined by University of Chicago economist Gary Becker as the knowledge, skills and experience of people. For the full article, click on the link below...
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Intellectual property damages reach NIS 2b.

As advances in technology make it increasingly difficult to slow the spread of intellectual property theft, leading to an estimated NIS 2 billion in annual damages in Israel, industry leaders at Wednesday's Intellectual Property Forum called on the government to begin working toward stamping out the illegal activity.
"There should be a uniform policy in terms of protecting intellectual property like there is in the US, the UK and Japan," Uriel Lynn, president of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, which encompasses the Israeli Intellectual Property Forum, told The Jerusalem Post. "A national policy needs to be formed. Then a national council that will enforce the policy needs to organized. However, from the side of the government, there is no movement to organize such a council. The government at this moment has no real plans to get involved in this movement." For the full article, click on the link below...
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Union says 'no' to IEC job cuts

The Israel Electric Corporation workers' union said Sunday it would fight the company's plans to seek to "retire" some 1,000 workers by 2010, increasing by 700 the number of employees who have already signed agreements to take early retirement.
"This is only something that is written on paper, there is no substance to it," David Zarfati, IEC workers' union head, told The Jerusalem Post. "We have no intention of approving such a plan and for us, to even consider it, would be a waste of time. It is nonsense. What is real are the negotiations that we have been conducting concerning our wages and the planned reforms." For the full article, click on the link below...
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Only 1,400 seek change to portable phone plans

The number portability era in Israel got off to a slow start on Sunday. The Communications Ministry reported that only 350 of an estimated 1,400 requests had been filled by the afternoon. The ministry, however, remained upbeat, stressing the need for patience as the system works out its kinks.
"Keep in mind that this is only the first day of the program - the number portability program is not going to be something that will quickly disappear, but it will be here forever, and it is to be expected that there will be problems at the beginning," the Communications Ministry said in a statement. For the full article, click on the link below...
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